


Defying Fates

by CloudyLightning



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: all the characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7880479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudyLightning/pseuds/CloudyLightning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU-ish (A Rewrite for Defying Fate) Robin was considered as a "Spoil of War" to Ylisse, but to the Royal Family, he was a brother to cherish, and a comrade to the Shepherds. War against Plegia was inevitable and Robin was running out of options. So, of course, he'd become a tactician with the little time he presumably had left and die happy- Not. </p><p>"Nah, nah, nah. Just blow it up. It's faster." -Robin</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A River Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Rewrite of my story Defying Fate. This is the version of how I originally intended to write this story.

"Robin! Look! Look what I got!" called my sister. I looked up from my book of magic spells and flinched at her appearance. My sister's long silver hair that reached her lower back was an absolute mess with twigs and leaves sticking out all over the place. Her white summer dress was practically caked in mud and her arms were covered with a thin layer of dirt. In her hands was a small rat. I wordlessly stared at her with my jaw slightly slacked as she smiled brightly, holding the rat toward me. "I caught a mouse!"

"R-Ravina," I began, my voice sounding hoarse, "Mother would scream if she saw you holding a rat."

Ravina huffed and dumped the poor rat on my lap. I panicked when the rat squeaked. I dropped my book of spells on the floor and picked him up gently, caressing him. I glared at my sister who smiled at me. "It's not a rat! It's a mouse!"

I sighed heavily, feeling a headache coming on. "Ravina, I don't care if it's a mouse or rat. You're a mess!"

"But, Robin!" Ravina begged. I shook my head, turning to the window behind me from my hard bed. I placed the mouse on the window sill. My joints ached as I struggled to open the window. Ravina sighed in defeat and climbed on to my bed to help me. With her help, the window flew open and the mouse leapt out in fright. We watched the mouse land into the grass and run off. Ravina pouted and rested her chin on the windowsill.

"Aw, Robin…there goes my whole morning!" she complained. I chuckled softly and took her arm. She followed me as I dragged her off my bed.

"Come on, Ravina," I said as we headed to the door of my room. "I don't want Mother to catch you like this. She's gonna be maaaaaad. Really mad."

"Ravina looked over herself for a moment and laughed nervously. But I wasn't fast enough. The door was suddenly opened just as I reached the door knob. There, standing before me, was a beautiful woman with long silky, silver hair. Her big purple coat danced around her ankles with momentum when she paused at the door. Her dark green eyes were wide with surprise, but it quickly melted into confusion.

"What in Naga's name?! Ravina! Why are you so dirty?!" she demanded as she knelt to her knees and ran a hand through my sister's hair. Ravina scowled (very unlady-like) as she tried to squirm away from my grasp. I tightened my grip on her as I spoke up to my mother.

"Sorry, Mother, but don't worry! I'll take her to the river to clean her up." I said, my voice strained as I tugged my sister. Ravina glanced at me with blinking eyes as our mother frowned.

"Robin," she began, her tone lowering slightly, "Absolutely not. You're going back to bed. Your fever just broke yesterday!"

My eyes widened in dread. "But, Mother, I'm okay now. I haven't been outside foreeever!"

"Please, Mother! I can't live without my big brother!" Ravina added, dashing in a bit of desperation in her voice and pulling her 'puppy eyes' (as Mother called it).

Mother sighed heavily as Ravina begged with me. Our consistent, high pitched voices seemed to aggravate her enough into agreeing. With a sigh of defeat, she managed a smile and patted us both on the head with a gentle, warm hand.

"Oh, fine. But I expect you both to be back before sundown. And Ravina, be careful with your brother. I won't hesitate to ground you if he gets sick again." She told us sternly. I wanted to roll my eyes, and I could tell Ravina wanted to do the same thing. Nevertheless, both Ravina and I nodded quickly and we ran out the door. Ravina stopped by her room and quickly grabbed some extra clothes. I waited patiently for her, wondering if I could actually make the trip down to the river. My knees were already shaking from just the short walk. Something icky felt stuck at the bottom of my throat and gave me urges to cough, but I knew if I started, it wouldn't stop.

I hated this. I was the older brother, and yet my sister was the one doing everything while I sat around and did nothing but read. I was the one who was supposed to be learning how to wield a sword, not my sister! But, my body couldn't handle the training exercises. I couldn't do anything.

"Robin, I'm ready!" Ravina said as she popped out of her room with a small shoulder bag. I smiled and allowed her to take my hand as we began to leave the house. Mother was standing at the entrance as we left, reminding us to be careful and to come home on time.

Ravina kept us walking at an easy pace that I could keep up, following the dirt road to the river bank. I took the time to take in my surroundings. The trees were tall and rich. The air was refreshing and lifted my mood a little.

Ever since we moved into that small house, I wasn't able to look around. Ravina had told me about the forest surrounding us. She would bring home either a flower or a fruit so that I could have it. I wasn't very fond of flowers, but I learned to love them for the sake of making her smile. There were other kids in the closest village that was only a twenty minute walk, but she didn't bother to befriend them. I asked her why one day and she gave me a pretty blunt answer.

"They hate Plegians, so I didn't want to play with them. Besides, I'd rather die than leave you alone."

I honestly doubted that. After all, all I ever did is sleep, eat, read, and repeat the process. Yup, I just called myself boring. But then, I guess it was better to be with boring kids than kids that hate you.

It didn't take us long to reach the river. It was only a good ten minute walk.

Ravina made me sit close enough to touch the water but refused to let me get any closer. Not that I minded. The grass was soft and lush underneath me. I held her small shoulder bag as she slipped into the river and splashed some water on her face.

The water turned brown around her, but was quickly swept away. Soon, her silver hair shined in the warm sunlight. Her skin became her natural tan, giving her a healthy glow. Even her summer dress cleared up a little.

I smiled at her as she dove under and resurfaced a couple of seconds later. I looked into the water to see my own watery reflection staring back at me. My skin was pale; as if I hadn't seen the sun in days (which was, in fact, true). My dark green eyes showed a little life, but were still a bit dull (I blame the ever growing fever I had). Just like my sister and Mother, my hair was silver, maybe even a little lighter (if it was possible), but of course, shorter; still a little long for a boy, but it was still shorter. I wore a white ranch shirt with a pair of brown shorts. It was slightly big, but anything for my small stature was big anyway.

Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Robin. I'm ten years old and I have a twin sister named Ravina. We look absolutely identical, so our Mother made sure to always trim my hair to tell the difference. It wasn't that hard to see the difference. I mean, I was a boy and Ravina was a girl. See? Not hard.

Anyway, one would think that Ravina and I would be alike in so many things, but it wasn't true. Even though I was older by a good ten minutes, I wasn't the one who took care of everything. Heck, I couldn't take care of everything. Ravina was born stronger than me. She could easily catch on and was energetic enough to handle most things. But, I, on the other hand, was different.

Our Father was once a King of a kingdom that many feared. As first-born, I was heir to the throne. But, Father wanted me to be more. He was training me to wield a magic that constantly drained me of my energy. It felt as if it was trying to turn me inside out. My body couldn't stand the continuous strain from training to magic day after day. But, one day, after something pretty bad happened to me (I couldn't remember what exactly), Mother took us both away. She somehow got us into the country of Ylisse and hid us in an abandoned home in the forest closest to the main city of the kingdom.

I later learned that I was sick. Really sick. I had no idea why, but I just was. Mother told me I wasn't meant to be born ill, but there was nothing that we could do about it now. Everyone said I was dying. There was nothing that could stop it, but Mother believed that I could get better. Ravina, too. Which was probably why I loved them so much.

"Hey, Robin!" Ravina's voice brought me out of my thoughts and I gave her a questioning look as she waddled out of the water. I cleared my throat and raised a hand to block the sun out of my eyes.

"Are you done?" I asked her. She wrung the water out of her hair with a bright smile. She was thoroughly soaked and I just realized that I forgot to grab a towel before we left. I bit the back of my lip and gave her a worried look. "I forgot to bring you a towel."

Ravina tilted her head in surprise. "Um, of course, you would. Robin, you weren't even going to get wet."

I shrugged as she plopped right next to me in the lush patch of grass. We sat there in silence, basking in the warm sunlight. I really didn't want this moment to end. I just wanted to stay here with Ravina, enjoying the gentle sounds of the river flowing and the high-pitched chirps of the birds around us; where there was no war, no hatred between countries, and anger. I felt Ravina rest her still wet head on my shoulder. I glanced at her and saw a smile on her face.

"I wonder how things could've been if we were a happy family." she said. I only hummed in wonder as I allowed myself to think about it. It made my back shiver at the thought of my father being a nice person.

Him? Nice? Ahaha! Nope.

Nope, nada, heck no.

That would be down right, dead creepy. But when I really thought about it, it really would've been nice. Mother wouldn't be distressed if things actually went well. Ravina wouldn't be so scared of him. I wouldn't be... And I wouldn't be dying right now.

With a small, inaudible sigh, I placed a hand on Ravina's hair and began to comb it. Small clumps of hair were jumbled together and I smoothened them out with practiced ease. The gentle breeze that flew by sped up the drying time and soon, it was dry enough to change clothes. I wordlessly handed her the shoulder bag and she took it.

"I'll be right back so don't go anywhere." she said as she got up. I rolled my eyes and rested my hands behind me, leaning on them as I tilted my head back.

"As if I could go far." I said, offering her a small smile. She huffed in amusement before disappearing in the dense forest. I took the opportunity to dip my hand into the water. It was cold to the touch and felt very refreshing. I played with the water, swishing my hand back and forth against the current. A small fish swam through my fingers, surprising me. I kept my hand still and watched as the fish turned around and did it again. I blinked.

"Is this fish having fun?" I asked out loud to no one in particular. I messed around with the fish by moving my hand around a couple of times. I laughed softly as the fish followed my hand, "You're having fun, aren't you?"

"Heeeeeey!" came an unfamiliar voice. I gasped and yanked my hand out of the water (the poor fish shot away in shock) and snapped my head in the general direction of the voice. There, on the other side of the river, stood a boy with dark blue hair and matching eyes. He wore a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt that was folded to his elbows and matching shorts. His skin was peachier than mine, obviously stating that he's been in the sun many times. His boots were past his ankles and it made me wonder what in the world he was wearing. It seemed fancier than normal things. His hands were at his hip as he started at me in wonder.

"Hey, what were you doing?" he called out to me. I rubbed my wet hand against my shorts to get it dry as I smiled hesitantly. I cleared my throat as best I could.

"I-I was just waiting for someone." I called out. By the confused look on his face, I could tell he hadn't heard me.

"What? I can't hear you! I think the river's too loud!" he said. I frowned at his answer and just shook my head. As if I could actually yell right now. I'd kill my throat.

The boy dropped his hands and looked around. I watched him as he pointed further downstream, noting the stepping-stones not too far away. He turned back to me and called out again.

"Hey, wait for me, okay? I'll meet you there!" he said. I could only blink in response as the other boy ran downstream to the stepping-stones. He practically hopped like a rabbit across the smooth stones and managed to not slip. The boy was a little better than Ravina. I was impressed.

I stood up wobbly as he made his way past the ferns to get to me. My knees shook slightly from the sudden movement, making me curse at my weakness. I was able to stand up when the boy reached me. He had a bright smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hi! I couldn't help but notice you were by yourself." he said. I stared at him with slightly wide eyes. I felt really uncomfortable with him talking to me. Especially, since he was taller than me by a good five inches. "And I was wondering if you were lost."

I bit the back of my lip as I took a small step back. The boy before me noticed and held up both of his hands; as if to say that he wasn't dangerous. "Whoa, wait! I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to help."

Mother had told me several times before that the eyes of a person are the window to their soul. With that in mind, I stared into his eyes and I only saw concern. He was genuinely concerned. Surprised, I felt myself loosen up (I didn't even know I tensed up) and offered a smile.

"Hi." was all I said. The boy before me went back into his bright smile and offered a hand toward me.

"I'm Chrom. You are?"

I was about to answer, but then I heard a twig snap in the forest. Apparently, the boy, Chrom, heard it, too, since he quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him to shield me.

"Stay behind me!" he whispered in my ear. I gave him a weird look as he tensed. I stood there calmly as my sister popped out from behind a bush with a happy smile. Her white summer dress was changed to a worn red tank top, a chocolate knee-length skirt, and a pair of boots she usually uses for traveling.

"Robin, I'm ba—Hey, step away from my brother!" she snapped as she caught sight of Chrom. Chrom's eyes widened quite suddenly as he turned to look at me with surprise.

"You're a boy?!" he gasped. I would've back-handed him in annoyance if I hadn't noticed Ravina. I quickly side-stepped when my sister dropped her bag and ran to the bank with a "battle cry".

"YE-HAAAH!" I watched as she shoved Chrom into the river, completely catching him off-guard.

"WHA!" Chrom cried as he landed on his rear in the water. Water splashed all over him, soaking him pretty well.

"Ah." Was all I could say as Ravina punched the air in triumph. She pointed at Chrom with an accusing finger.

"Hah! That's what you get for hurting my brother!" she said. I raised a hand at Ravina.

"Ravina—" I was cut off by Chrom's spluttering.

"Hurting her? I didn't hurt her—" his eyes widened when he finally realized his mistake. Ravina glared at him dangerously and quickly corrected himself. "I-I mean, HIM. Him! I didn't hurt him! I was just—"

Ravina was quick to cut him off. "Just what? Thought you could help a little 'damsel' in distress?" I scowled at Ravina as she avoided my glare the whole time. "Hah! As if! I know Robin may look like a girl and the perfect target," (I face palmed here and grumbled under my breath "Oh, Naga, someone stop her…") "But he's perfectly capable of burning down a whole forest by himself!"

"Ravina," I began with my voice heavily with irritation, catching both of their attentions as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You just said that I'm a really bad person."

Ravina's eyes widened. "Oh! Oops! I-I mean…He's capable of talking to animals!"

…Okay, now she made me sound like a stupid fairy tale princess. Chrom gave her a look that clearly said, "What in Naga's name…?"

I couldn't help but agree with him as I shook my head. Sometimes, just sometimes, my sister could be such an embarrassing mess, but I still loved her because of it. It made my life less dull. Sighing, I took a step into the water and held a hand to him.

"Sorry about that, Chrom. My sister is just protective over me." I apologized as I glanced at my sister, who was pointedly looking away in embarrassment. Chrom took my hand and I practically used all my strength just to help him up. Chrom frowned as he warily looked at my sister.

"Make that really overprotective." He said. We both shared a glance and laughed. Ravina glared at us both as she crossed her arms.

"Hey, I was just protecting my brother from strangers!" Ravina said, defending herself, as she flushed red. Chrom reached over and patted her head.

"Wish I was kind of like you." he said with a small smile. Ravina pushed his hand away with a pout.

"Oh, you don't wanna be like me!" she snapped. I sighed and stepped out of the river, taking my sister's hand into mine.

"Ravina, we should go." I said, my voice already straining. She gave me a look before turning away from Chrom and dragging me with her.

"Hey, wait!"

Both of us paused and turned to look at Chrom. He seemed to be a taken back by our actions, but he recovered rather quickly. "I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to offend either of you!"

Ravina bent down to pick up her bag on the grass and slipped it on. She looked over to Chrome with a small smile. "It's fine, Chrom." I nodded in agreement with her. Chrom smiled.

"What's your names? You know mine, so we should be fair." he quickly added. I shared a smile with Ravina and she nodded. I pointed to myself.

"I'm Robin," I said. I gestured to my sister, "and this is Ravina. We're twins."

"Robin...Ravina..." He said as if he was testing our names on his tongue. A different kind of smile appeared on his face. It was friendly and I suddenly felt as if I could trust him. Just by looking at the expression on Ravina's face, I could tell she felt the same way.

"Hey, Robin," Chrom called. I hummed in acknowledgement as Ravina clutched my hand a little tighter. My throat itched and my knees were practically knocking into each other. I was pretty sure that Chrom noticed with his constant worried looks.

"Sorry for calling you a girl." He apologized. I gave him a long stare before shaking my head with a smile. I cleared my throat.

"I-it's fine, Chrom." I managed to say. Ravina tugged my hand and turned to Chrom.

"Well, it was nice meeting you and all, but we have to go. Mother would be wondering where we are." she said. Chrom nodded in understanding.

"Uhm, will I ever see you guys again? Here at this river?" he asked. Ravina looked conflicted for a moment, but she answered him.

"Ah...Maybe. We might be leaving soon, but I can try to stall our mother. She might say no, though." she said. Chom's shoulders fell slightly.

"Soon? Hmm. Well, if I don't get to see you guys again, then maybe we'll see each other when we're older." Chrom said. With a nod of agreement, we turned to leave but Ravina stopped for a second. She glanced over her shoulder. Chrom was already on his way back to the stepping-stones. I sighed.

"Ravina, just say it." I told her. She gave me a smile and shook her head.

"Nah, I can apologize to him the next time I see him. You know what Mother told us? Have something to look forward to, right?" she asked me. I shrugged with a smile.

"Well, I guess we have to see him again." I said. As Ravina began to lead the way back to our temporary home, I couldn't help but feel like I would meet him again. Little did I realize, that my world that just consisted of my sister and mother, began to crumble away.

Fate was, will, and never be fair.


	2. How to Speak Honestly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chrom just can't believe Robin sometimes.

Chapter 1: How To Speak Honestly

The curtain swayed in the cold night breeze as I stared into the fireplace. I watched it flicker in a complete daze. After a long day of studying, I know it started to take a toll on me. I felt completely drained, and I couldn't find the strength to get up from the comfy chair I sat on. A book full of tactical exercises began to slip out of my hand, but I did nothing to stop it. I could hear Emm humming softly to herself as she worked on her small cross-stitching project she decided to do not too long ago. It kind of amazed me that she found time to do such a thing (well, when you think about how she was the Exalt of Ylisse). I felt the book finally slip out of my hands and land on the floor with a loud _thump!_

Emm's humming suddenly stopped with a sharp gasp. I heard her heave a sigh as I imagined the look of surprise on her face (not that I was trying to surprise her) melt into relief. I didn't bother to move and just allowed my eyes to close drowsily. The soft footsteps of the Exalt told me that she no longer worked on her cross-stitching. I felt a hand rest on my wrist and gave it a tiny shake.

"Robin," came Emm's gentle voice, "Robin, you shouldn't sleep here."

I pretended to sleep on, not wanting to get up. I heard her sigh and felt her other hand rest on my shoulder.

"Robin, I won't hesitate to get Chrom here to carry you to bed again," she threatened me. I mentally rolled my eyes. Oh, let him come. I didn't care. I was too tired to even care. Emm laughed lightly and I could hear her hair sway back and forth as she shook her head, "Oh, Robin, what am I going to do with you? I swear Lissa's stubbornness is rubbing off of you."

I wanted to give her a pointed look, but my eyes refused to open. Was I really that tired? I didn't use any of my magic today, nor did I have any form of sparring with Chrom today, so why?

"Emm, have you seen Robin? He wasn't in his roo-Oh. There he is," said a new voice. I recognized the voice in a flash. I heard that voice so many times for the past eight years that I could never forget it. The voice was low baritone full of a reassurance that many never really seemed to notice. It was the voice of a person who always managed to break something while swinging a practice sword around.

Slowly, I forced myself to open my eyes. My vision was blurred at first, but it cleared up in a few seconds. Emmeryn was standing next to me, her hands still on my wrist and shoulder. She wasn't looking at me though. I shifted my gaze to the open doorway of the room and breathed a small sigh.

A tall teenager in his late teens stood there with his hands on his hips. He had a smirk on his face as our eyes caught each other. I tried to offer a small smile, but I could tell it didn't work.

"Robin? You okay?" Chrom asked, moving away from the door. Emm frowned a little and squeezed my shoulder a little bit.

"Chrom, I think it's happening again. Can you help him to his room?" she asked him. Chrom's smile faltered for a moment, but he was quick to recover.

"Yeah, I can do that." he said. Darn Chrom. I rolled my eyes and finally found the strength to move. I pulled my wrist away from Emm's grip and politely pushed the hand on my shoulder away.

"I'm fine, Emm. Just tired." I told her as she gave me her worried look. Ugh, how I hated seeing that look in her eyes! Why did I always make her worry? Shouldn't Chrom scare her more because of his bad habit of getting caught up in something weird? I gave her a smile to help her ease her worry.

"Really, stop worrying, Emm. I'll be fine after a good night's rest." I promised her. Chrom placed a hand on Emm's shoulder to help me out (or maybe not?).

"Don't worry, Emm, I got him." he said. The Exalt thanked Chrom with a pat on his hand and took a couple steps back to give me some room. I felt a small amount of my strength return and I was able to get up with just a hint of difficulty. My legs felt like jelly, but Chrom had a hand on my shoulder to steady me before I could stumble over. I gave him a thankful glance as I bowed slightly to Emm.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked her. Emm nodded.

"Of course." She said with a smile. She turned to Chrom, "Take care of yourself and Lissa, alright? I know Frederick and Sully will keep the both of you safe, but I want you to be careful, Chrom."

Chrom nodded.

"I hear you, Emm. You've been saying that all day that even Lissa won't forget," he said. Emm shook her head.

"It never hurts to repeat something more than once," she said as she placed a hand on her hip. The Prince of Ylisse grimaced slightly. For a moment there, I was reminded of a day when we were younger. Chrom and I were constantly warned by his - excuse me,  _our_ \- older sister, but we never bothered to actually listen to her until Lissa got hurt.

"I got it, Emm! You don't have to worry about a thing. Besides, Robin-" he gave my shoulder a slight squeeze, "-will be here the whole time."

"Chrom..." I sighed. He just laughed it off as Emm tilted her head a little. With a small sigh, she gave up.

"Well, I've held you two for too long. Good night, Chrom, Robin," she said as she waved.

"G'night, Emm!" Chrom and I said at the same time as he led me out of the room. Once we were out of earshot, I gave him a look of curiosity.

"Tell me, again," I began as I felt my body loosen up. I stretched and gripped Chrom's arm, "just where are you guys going again?"

"Around the smaller towns near the border. I want see how things are doing with the trouble that's been going on," he answered. Chrom paused and allowed my body to adjust to reduce any addition strain. I tapped his arm after a moment and we began moving again. It seemed a little odd, but it worked. We came up with this little routine a couple years ago to help with my ridiculously weak body. Most of the time just standing around and waiting the pain out worked the best.

"You mean the bandits?" I asked.

"Yeah, they say that the bandits are trained Plegian soldiers in disguise," he answered with a sigh. I bit back a frown as he gave me a questioning look, "Has anyone been throwing any insults at you lately? I mean, I know it doesn't happen when I'm around, but-"

"Chrom," I said, cutting him off before he could say anymore, "I'm doing fine. No one made any jabs or insults about my 'filthy' heritage recently. So, stop worrying about me and focus on other things. I should be the last thing on your mind."

Chrom and I shared a glance. He knew I was lying, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to come right out and say it. It was true that many Nobles and Council Members that I ran into or just passed by gave me some pretty nasty looks and started nasty rumors about me. I nearly laughed when someone accused me of plotting a scheme to assassinate Chrom.

HAH. As if I had the heart to kill him. Even if someone used him against me, I wouldn't dare. It would like killing my older brother or something. And...I didn't think I could handle something like that again. Losing one family was bad enough for a lifetime of nightmares, thank you very much.

"You seriously suck at lying," Chrom stated rather bluntly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I pushed him slightly with an annoyed look on my face.

"I'm not the only one," I told him. He only laughed as we continued down the hall. We finally reached my room on the other side of the castle. It was funny how Chrom and I used to share the same room when we were younger. Although, as soon as I turned seventeen, I asked to have my own room. Sure, Emm wasn't happy, but I didn't want to accidentally wake up Chrom in the middle of the night... like I had been for four years. Emm eventually gave in and just placed me in a room right across from Chrom's room. In all honesty, I have no idea if I could even call that a win, but I took it.

Chrom guided me to my bed and I just allowed him to.

Usually, I wasn't this...wimpy, but just for today I was. Over the last eight years I have lived in this castle, I managed to grow a little stronger. My magic was easy to control, and it was only tiring when I went over my limit. With a mock battle with Chrom, I was able to last a good three minutes before I couldn't cast another spell.

Which was a good thing, right?

"Hey, I can get my own night clothes," I said as Chrom moved to my dresser. He hmphed and pulled out a set anyway, tossing them to me.

"Hah, I know for a fact that if I leave you now, you wouldn't change at all," Chrom said, turning to leave. "I'll be back in a bit."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the clothes. Chrom was a man of his word, so I was pretty damn sure he was going to come back. So, I shrugged off my mother's coat, kicked off my boots and changed, albeit sluggishly. In fact, if Chrom didn't hand me the clothes and tell me to change, I really would've just slept in my attire.

By the time I finished changing, Chrom walked in, dressed in his own night clothes. He didn't look at me as he took my mother's coat and hung it in on a hook on the wall. I would've done it myself, but he didn't let me. Times like these really got on my nerves. Chrom was a prince, and I was a Plegian P-... I mean, a random orphan. Yet, Chrom would lower himself down just go the extra mile for me.

I really hated that.

"I'll be leaving early tomorrow, so you don't need to wake up just to see us off," Chrom said, finally looking at me. I could tell right away that something was bothering him. I already knew what the problem was.

"Chrom," I said, fully gaining his attention. Chrom tensed, as if preparing himself for something. I smiled.

"Don't worry about me," I told him, "Everything is going to be fine, alright? I can handle myself. I'm a Plegian, for Naga's sake."

Chrom sighed and plopped himself at the edge of my bed. "But that's exactly it, Robin. We're getting older and the tensions with Plegia are getting worse. You live in the Royal Castle with me. If a war breaks out, there's no telling what would happen to you with or without our protection!"

I rolled my eyes as I stood before him. I placed a hand on my hip and flicked his forehead with my other. "I can't always let the Royal family stand up for me. You said it yourself, we're getting older. Look, I know it's hard, but I'm not that important right now. You need to focus on what a Prince of Ylisse should do."

Chrom sat silently for a minute, avoiding eye contact with me, "But I-" He stopped, finally looking at me before sighing. "Never mind. You're right. I'm worrying over something pretty useless, aren't I?"

I nodded firmly, "Damn right, you are."

We shared a short laugh as Chrom got up, shaking his head, "You take care of yourself, alright?"

I watched him head to my door. "You, too, brother."

He finally smiled, "Good night, Robin."

Chrom left without another word and I sat down the edge of my bed, staring at the door.

._._._._._.

_"It's cold!" I complained as I stepped into the river shore with my bare feet. My sister was ahead of me, already knee deep in the water. She laughed and splashed a wave of cold water at me. I squeaked, shielding myself from the onslaught. "Hey!"_

_"Ahaha! Come on, Robin! The water's not that bad!" she laughed. I shook my head to dry my hair a little._

_"That's not fair! You got in first," I said, rubbing my arms as I inched my way to her. My sister moved deeper into the river, reaching to her hips. I shivered as the water crawled up my legs. Strangely enough, I noticed the water's current was getting faster, and yet the level was getting lower. I looked up to see my sister still smiling without a care in the world, even with the water flowing by her ankles._

_Then I saw it._

_The waters behind her twisted for a moment before dark shadows emerged from the surface. My sister didn't notice._

_"Ravina!" I yelled, throwing my body into motion. My hand reached for her as my legs splashed across the water. She was there, still smiling, still laughing toward me, unaware of the shadows reaching for her._

_"What's wrong, Robin? You're-" she couldn't finish the sentence as the shadows wrapped itself around my sister's chest. Her eyes widened and her smile dropped. She didn't dare to look back, throwing a hand toward me instead. The very look in her eyes told me all I needed to know._

_Disbelief, refusal, despair, fear... even determination._

_"No! I can't! I can't leave you! I don't want to lose you!"_

_Everything seemed to move slower all of a sudden. My body was sluggish as I reached for her outstretched hand._

_"I don't want to lose you!" my sister yelled, struggling against the binds with a hand._

_I was close, so close that I could touch the very tips of our fingers together._

_"I don't want to leave you," I heard her whisper._

._._._._._.

"Ravina!" I gasped, throwing the blankets off of me and reaching for that non existent hand. I sat there for a moment, only to realize that it was all a dream. I was drenched in sweat and I was panting like I ran across the castle gardens. My arm dropped on top of my blanket, and I cringed at the terrible ache in my joints. It was a definite sign that I needed to calm down soon. I clamped my hands together and held them to my chest, silently counting every shuddering breath I took.

I didn't know how much time passed until I was finally able to really breathe. A wave of dizziness passed over me a few times before settling into a dull headache. I breathed a sigh of relief and fell back into the soft mattress of my bed.

Looking out the window, I took note that the moon had nearly set and the first rays of sunlight were beginning to show at the horizon. Dawn.

I blinked to get my bearings, trying to remember if there was anything important going on today. The memory of the dream flashed across my eyes and I squeezed them shut.

"It's just a dream. Just a dream..." I muttered to myself. I laid there, letting drowsiness to take me. I nearly fell asleep, something I wanted to do.

Then a horse neighed. My eyes snapped open. I knew that neigh anywhere.

"Chrom!" I remembered. Immediately, I slipped out of bed, practically crumpling to the freezing floor. I cursed silently and picked myself up haphazardly, grabbing my mother's coat and fumbling with the doorknob. It would've been embarrassing if someone was watching, but then I have to remind myself that this was my room. I didn't share Chrom anymore.

I finally got the door open and rushed into the hall. A few servants were out and about, no doubt trying to get things started before Emm woke up. I somehow managed to make it to the entrance, just in time to see Lissa, Frederick, and Chrom standing there.

"Why do we have to leave so early, Chrom? You said we'd leave after breakfast, not dawn," Lissa said, clutching her staff as she rubbed her eye. I stopped for a moment and decided to hide a little.

"Sorry, Lissa, but those bandits don't wait for anyone." Chrom said as he patted his sister's head. Lissa brushed him off.

"I know, I know," she said, "but I wanted to say bye to Robin." she said, pouting a little. Frederick blinked in understanding.

"Ah, I see, milord," he said. Chrom looked at him.

"What?"

"It would be best to leave without bothering Sir Robin, am I correct?" Frederick asked. Chrom nodded.

"Exactly. It would be better to leave before he gets worried. It's not good for him." he said. I had enough.

I walked out of my hiding place and approached them casually, "Then get going! The sun will be fully up if you dwindle any longer."

Lissa's eyes widened, "Robin! What are you doing so early?"

I smiled at her as she gave me a quick, sibling hug, "Nothing really, just seeing you off."

Chrom had a small frown on his face while Frederick nodded to me.

"Thank you, Sir Robin," Frederick said, "We will return here safely in a week."

I returned the nod, "Of course. Take care of Chrom and Lissa for me."

Gesturing to Frederick, I grabbed Chrom's arm and pulled him with me, "Let me borrow him for a minute actually."

Lissa shook her head, "Of course! Take my dense brother."

"Wait, what?! But we need to leave-" Chrom began, but Frederick interrupted him, "Don't worry, Milord, we'll meet Sully at the entrance and wait for you there."

"Bye, Robin!" Lissa said, giving me one last hug, "Take care of Emm for us!"

"I will," I told her as she followed Frederick toward the castle gates. I waited for them to be out of range before turning on Chrom.

"Okay. That's it. What's bothering you this time?" I said, not really asking and rather just stating. Chrom spluttered for a moment, his eyes wide. I grinned mentally. I had definitely caught him off guard. He took a moment to recollect himself a bit, but the smile he had on his face was replaced with a slight frown. I crossed my arms and shifted my weight on my left leg.

"Chrom... I know you have something to say again. You just couldn't say it in front of Lissa." I said, trying to get him to talk. He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Look, I wanted to bring you along, but Emm was completely against it. I mean, I really... don't want to leave you here," he said. The memory of my dream suddenly flashed in the back of my head, but I pushed it to the side.

"Chrom, I told you, I'll be fine. We've been over this." I said.

"Even so. Just talking it over and you claiming that you'll be fine doesn't work. Even Lissa is starting to worry, and she's a cleric," he said. I bit my lip.

"Well, then what do you want me to do? I can't..." - _go back to Plegia._  I trailed off.

He finally sighed in defeat. "I'm just worried, alright? I mean, are you sure no one is insulting you or anything? Because if someone is, you could always go to Emm, and she'll do something about it."

"You know I can't always depend on Emm, Chrom. I'll just prove that I'm too weak to handle things on my own. Trust me, I'll be fine. Just worry about Lissa and Frederick, alright?" I said, patting his shoulder with a convincing smile. Chrom frowned in worry.

"Are you sure? I mean, I heard this can get pretty bad when no one's arou-" I cut him off because I really didn't want to hear the end of it.

"Just trust me! I'll be fine. Besides, I have Ricken to worry about since you know how curious he can get. Who knows? I might as well be stuck with him all day." I said. It was true. Ricken was a thirteen year old boy who had one neck of a huge interest in magic and tomes, he would practically flutter over to me and pester me for half the day about it. He usually appeared when Chrom, Lissa, Emm, or even Frederick weren't around. Brutally honest, he was annoying, but his gift in magic made up for it. So, in a way, he was like me.

"Alright... I'm only worried because I see you as a brother, Robin. I want to be able to protect all of my siblings - blood related or not," Chrom said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I laughed a little.

"I see you as a brother, too, Chrom," I told him. I looked to the sky and brush Chrom's hand away politely.

"Well! I think it's about time you get going. The sooner you go, the faster you can get back." I said with a smile on my face. He laughed.

"You sound like you don't want to see me," he said.

"Hey, you were the one who was going to leave without even saying good bye to Emm" I said, placing a hand on my hip.

"Heh, point taken," Chrom said, "I'll see you soon."

I waved as he dashed past me and heading to the entrance. Knowing Lissa's impatience, Chrom wouldn't be able hear the end of her complaining about it until the next day.

"Be careful!" I called after Chrom. He hollered an answer over his shoulder.

"You too, Robin!"

I shook my head and began to head back inside. Once I made it to the Grand Hall, I took a moment to breathe. Then, out of no where, a sudden stab of pain flashed through my right hand. It felt like hot lamp oil burning my skin.

"What the-" I cut myself off when I looked at the back of my hand.

There, in dark purple lines, were three eyes staring back at me.

My stomach suddenly dropped and a wave of fear crashed into me. I fell to my knees ungracefully with the sudden overwhelming pressure I felt. My hands shook as I stared at the eyes in horror.

I knew those eyes. Half or not, I knew it. I would recognize them anywhere. I pulled my sleeve over my hand and held it to my chest.

"No..." I breathed, seeing flashes of the girl in my dreams coming back to haunt me, "Ravina..."


	3. How a Simple Change... Changes Things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't bother to edit. I got lazy....

It all came down to three things.

...Three things.

One, I was screwed.

Two, my sister was alive but I didn't know where.

Three, I was gods-damned screwed. How, exactly, was I supposed to hide myself with that-that thing on my hand!?

As soon as I got over my shock of the Mark appearing on my hand, I hurried back to my room and wrapped a bandage around my hand. I spilt just a bit of red ink inside to make it seem convincing. Up to the tips of my fingers, my whole hand was a bright red. It was almost as if I smacked it against a wall or something. I knew that Emm was one to actually check my injuries, but if I said that my physician looked at it, then she would let it pass...

Then again, that was a big, fat, ugly  _would_. Heck, I didn't think my physician would even bother coming this early in the day.

I eventually gave up trying to find an excuse, deciding to head to the kitchens to fix myself something to eat. I usually ate with everyone in the mornings, meaning Chrom, Emm, Lissa, and Frederick (if we could flag him down), but not this morning. With three of them gone and the sun just peeking over the horizon, I doubted Emm would even be up by now.

The moment I entered the kitchens, one of the early morning chefs stopped to look at me. I tossed him a smile, "Morning, Timothy."

"M-Morning..." he answered back, staring at me with wide eyes. I shrugged off my mother's coat and hung it on an open hook. It wasn't unusual for me to just waltz into the kitchen and start cooking. In fact, nobody bothered to stop me since Emm convinced the kitchen staff that I really couldn't do anything bad. They knew that I was just a Plegian kid with a sad future. Timothy was one of the few that pay attention to me without any reluctance or disgust. He treated me like he treated his own kids. Well, at least I thought so since he'd sometimes sneak some extra sweets into my pocket.

"Oh? Who's this?" asked a familiar voice, "is he new?"

I turned around to see a maid, Floria, looking at me with her usual smile as she walked in with a bowl of grain. Floria was a maid that everyone knew. She had been around ever since I had arrived in the Ylissean castle. Though she was assigned to me, she didn't treat me any different than anyone else. It was nice to know not all Ylisseans hated Plegians.

"Good morning, Floria," I greeted casually, making my way to the pantry for some hint as to what I could make, "there's someone new? I didn't see anyone else except us when I walked in."

Then I heard a crash and a loud thump. I jolted a little at the noises and looked back to see Floria and Timothy's jaws dropped... and spilt grain.

"Robin?!" they both exclaimed. I blinked rapidly at them.

"Uhm... hi?" I said, completely confused. They shared a look before looking at me.

"What happened to you?" Floria asked as she stepped up to me. I laughed nervously as I rubbed my bandaged hand before me.

"O-oh, I hit something this morning and I-" I couldn't finish as Timothy cut me off.

"No, no, no," he said, shaking his head, "Your hair!"

I raised an eyebrow, "My hair?"

Floria grabbed a lock of my hair and pulled it into my line of sight, "It's fading to pink!"

"What?" I had to take a moment to focus on the lock that entered my sight, and froze. True to her word, the lock of hair was definitely white, but gradually, it faded to a pink to a soft red at the very ends of the strands. "What the fu-"

Floria gave me a look and I changed my word midway, "-udge! This has to be some prank!"

Timothy ran a hand through his brown hair and scratched the back of his head. "I dunno, Robin, it looks pretty natural to me. How'd you do it?"

I stepped away from Floria, "What?! I didn't do anything!"

"Oh! Did a spell back fire on you?" Floria asked, placing a thoughtful hand on her lips as she squinted her eyes at me.

"What?! No! You know how well I can handle spells!" I said, offended that she could say such a thing. I could handle myself very well, thank you very much!

Floria placed a hand on her hip and leaned back a little, "I must say, You don't seem that Plegian anymore though."

I spluttered, "What?"

Timothy stood by Floria and nodded, "Oh yeah, I heard of a dancer in Regna Ferox with pink hair. If anything, someone might mistaken her as your sister."

I snorted at the thought. Sister? I had one, but I didn't know where she was. Heck, I didn't know if she was still alive. I forced a smile, "Riiiight, like my hair is gonna change anything."

Shaking my head, I waved a dismissive hand in hopes to dispel the awkwardness, "Setting that aside! It's time to get breakfast going, right?"

I turned around, brushing my hair back as I focused on making breakfast. Timothy helped me out by getting me a few ingredients and such, but he definitely couldn't stop staring at my hair when he thought I wasn't looking. Even as the rest of the kitchen staff slowly filed in, they couldn't help but stop me to double check that it was actually me.

It didn't take me long to get everything prepared. I had to ignore the looks of disbelief and shock as I walked out of the kitchen with a small pitcher of cream. Floria carried a tray of toast and eggs with a side of freshly cut fruit, enough to feed two, following close behind me. I knew that my new appearance would be a little... humiliating, but I was surprised that no one actually confronted me about it. Those who saw me either stared on or did a double take and ran off. Strangely enough, every time I looked behind me, I only saw Floria smiling her usual kind smile.

...Then again, with her around, I barely ever get bothered by anyone.

When I made it to Emm's office, I could already hear her pacing back and forth in her room. I stood in front of the door, hesitating. Floria, sensing my discomfort, stepped up to the door. I stepped aside to avoid getting trampled as she swiftly knocked on the door.

"Excuse me, Lady Exalt," Floria called out politely, "Breakfast has arrived."

I pressed my lips together, only slightly upset at her as Emm's voice came from the other side.

"Come in!"

She sent me a slight smirk and opened the door, going right inside with me right behind her, "Good morning, Lady Exalt!"

"Good morning, Floria," Emm greeted. she had her back turned toward us, most likely looking over some document or something. Floria placed the tray on top of a nearby table, and I placed the pitcher right next to it.

"Morning, Emm," I greeted casually. I figured that if I was going to get through this, it would be best to be... subtle... if that made any sense. Floria gave a quick bow and excused herself from the room, leaving me alone with Emm. "Getting a head start on the day?"

"Oh, Robin," she said, finally turning around with a warm smile on her face, "I wasn't expecting you to be-...up yet."

That smile slowly faded into confusion. I tilted my head at her, "Emm? You okay?"

She blinked once, then twice, then rubbed her eyes and blinked again. Then I remembered about my hair.

"Ah, Emm," I quickly began, waving my hands, "I have no idea how-"

Emm didn't let me finish as she walked right up to me and ran her hand through my hair. She looked into my eyes for a moment, her lips trembling for a moment-

Then she laughed, lifting her other hand to cover her mouth, "Ahahahaha!"

My face flushed in pure embarrassment, "Emm! It's not funny!"

"But it is! You're so cute!" she said, pinching my checks in the process. I let out an undignified yelp and snapped my hands to hers, pulling them away from my face.

"Emm! This isn't funny! It's a serious problem here!" I told her, but I highly doubted she would listen to me. After all, she was having her share of "fun", I guess I could say.

"Ahahaha! What a morning to start with!" Emm laughed, giving me a hug. I felt a little smothered but I learned to love her hugs. In a way, it kind of reminded me of my mother.

Emm pulled away, holding my shoulders with a smile.

"Come, let's eat before the food grows cold. We can figure out what happened a little later," she said, leading the way to the table.

I nodded, taking a seat at the small table, "Yeah, you'll never believe what happened this morning-"

._._._._._.

_She just knew she was being stupid, but she didn't have much of a choice. The man before her had stolen the person she held most dear to her heart, and she was just about ready to murder that man! She gripped her silver sword tighter and held it ready. At the edge of her sight, she could see her white-haired ******* lying at the bloodied alter of the Dragon's Table, completely still. She gritted her teeth. Her time was running short. If she was lucky, then she would be able to save the little life her ******* had._

_She took a step back as Chrom dashed past her with a battle cry. She brandished her own sword and charged in just as Chrom slashed at their enemy. His attacks were blocked with bolts of electricity. She swung her sword horizontally across the unguarded back of her enemy, but her enemy was quick to leap into the air._

_"Ravina! Above!" Chrom exclaimed. She snapped her head up and quickly leapt back as a ball of purple energy crashed into the ground._

_"Chrom!" she cried when she lost sight of her companion. The smoke cleared quickly and she saw Chrom shaking his head to recollect himself. She took a step in his direction but halted when her friend was shoved into a pillar by a bundle of purple lightning. Flustered, she gripped her sword and dashed at her enemy, who formed another spell. She leapt into the air and angled her body to strike downward as hard as she could, efficiently stopping the spell and forcing the enemy back._

_"I'm not going to let you kill Chrom, too!" she declared as she pointed her sword at the enemy's chest. The man glared hatefully at her and growled slightly as he prepared for his next attack. Chrom appeared at her side and held his sword at the ready._

_"Let's end this. For ***** and our futures!" he said, glaring at their enemy. Ravina nodded and raised her sword with both her hands on the handle. Her left foot slowly pulled back and her sword came near her face, its tip pointing at their enemy's neck._

_"For my *******!" she declared. With a cry of determination, Ravina dashed forward, pushing off with her left and took a fast swipe at her enemy. Chrom was close behind with his sword trailing behind him, scratching the floor and flying into the enemy's side. They didn't dare to let up their attacks, even when their enemy blocked most of them with his cursed lightning. Ravina held back, waiting for the right moment to strike his weak point._

_"You can never change your fate! Grima will be revived!" their enemy said with an angry tone. It didn't discourage either of them (more like enraged them further) as Chrom let out a frustrated roar and knocked the tome out of their enemy's hands. Ravina quickly took the opportunity to run him through, a little close to his heart for comfort (well, to her satisfaction). She stayed there for a good moment to let her enemy take in the pain. Blood splattered on her favorite coat and she didn't care._

_"*****," she began with a hash tone, "***** was my *******, our comrade! Our teacher! Your ***! We could've been a family, but you were so blinded! I don't care about Grima. I don't care if he was to be the sacrifice and I the vessel! I'll **never**  forgive you." _

_She took a step back and kicked her enemy off her sword; dark smoke billowed out of the wound. She tore her eyes away from the scene and saw Chrom apply pressure on a cut on his arm. Ravina hurried over._

_"Chrom! Are you alright?" she asked as she sheathed her sword and looked at his bloody hand. Chrom gave her a smile._

_"Yeah, just a scratch. What about-" he began, but cut himself off when he looked at the dying man. "Brutal as always, huh, Ravina?"_

_She held back a small laugh. "Brutal? He deserved worse."_

_Chrom straightened up and began to head to their friend._

_"THIS ISN'T OVER!" a voice screamed. Ravina snapped her head in the direction of her enemy and leapt into action when she realized what he was about to do. She barreled herself into Chrom and shoved him aside, getting the full impact of the spell. Thousands of shocks ran through her body as she let out a blood-curling scream._

_"Ravina!" Chrom shouted as he recovered from his stumble. He rushed to her side and held her in his arms. "Are you alright? Don't worry, thanks to you we don't have to worry about him."_

_But, even though Chrom was calling out to Ravina, she could barely register his words. Her vision blurred and her hand began to move on its own to the small dagger she always had on her. As quick as lightning, her hand moved._

_"Snap ou-Gyuk!" Chrom was unable to finish his sentence as his eyes widened in shock at the pain that erupted in his side. He slowly looked down to see the dagger buried deep into his side; Ravina's hand still tightly griped around the hilt. She stared at her hand in shock and jerkily removed her hand from the handle. She looked into Chrom's eyes. She could clearly see shock and disbelief, but it melted into forgiveness._

_Chrom had forgiven her._

_"Chrom, no... no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Words of apology spilled from her lips as she stumbled away from Chrom, away from his arms. He forced a smile._

_"I-It's not your...your fault. And it will ne-ver be your fault. Please-" he took a shuddering breath. "Promise me you'll get out. Go."_

_"Chrom...!" Ravina watched in horror as Chrom crumbled to the floor and his blood stained the red carpet, tuning it a darker shade of red. With Chrom out of her sight, she could see the alter of the Dragon's Table. She began to crawl toward the alter. Her whole body shook in horror and refusal as a loud echoing laughter haunted her, blaring loudly in her head. It was all her fault. Overwhelming guilt washed over her and she regretted everything she had done._

**_"Hey, Ravina, I think I know why Mother gave us our names..."_ **

_Blood dripped from the edge of the stone table, silently filling the cracks._

**_"They both mean 'bright'. I think that's what she wanted."_ **

_The sliver knife gleamed in the dark light, loudly taunting her._

**_"For us to be bright... Ahaha, what do you think?"_ **

_She screamed._

~In That Field~

"Is she alive?" Chrom asked as he leaned over an unconscious woman. She was wearing a purple coat lined with an awfully familiar pattern that seemed to fit her quite nicely. Her skin was fair and her sleeping face reminded him of a certain tactician. The only thing that really separated the two was their hair. The woman's hair slowly tinged to a soft pink at the ends.

Lissa came over the woman's other side and leaned over her, too.

"We have to do something!" she said with a slight tone of worry. She took a look at the woman and a slightly confused look. "...Hey, Chrom, doesn't she look like Robin? She even has the same coat, too."

Chrom hummed in agreement as a picture of Robin napping on the windowsill in the castle library a couple weeks back. The woman was slept just like him: her mouth was slightly open and her eyes were scrunched slightly together with a peaceful look on her face. When he took a closer look at the coat, he could tell that the pattern's coat was a slightly different purple. It was redder than Robin's. "I thought the same."

Lissa glanced at her brother, "Do you think they could be related or something?"

Chrom considered the suggestion for a moment as Frederick approached the two and looked over the unconscious woman. "Well, she nearly has the same color as Sir Robin."

Chrom frowned when he could see this woman and Robin being related. In fact, it was a little too much of a coincidence. Unless... "True, her hair does have a bit of pink in it..."

A small groan caught their attention.

"She's waking up!" Lissa said. Then she yelped, surprising the three.

"No!" Her hand flew upward as if reaching for something in front of her. Her eyes snapped open, wide and frightened. Frederick instinctively moved before Lissa and Chrom, pulling the two behind him.

"Look out!" he warned. Chrom ignored that warning as he ducked under Frederick's arm and dropped to the woman's side, grabbing that outstretched hand.

"It's okay! It's okay, you're safe," Chrom assured the woman. She looked up at Chrom with wide, fearful eyes.

"S-safe?" she began, her voice filled with confusion.

"Yes. Now take a moment and breathe," Chrom advised her. He watched as she laid there on the ground, taking deep breaths. Chrom couldn't help but feel a bit of familiarity, seeing how he had to calm Robin from nightmares like this nearly every night. Now that he actually looked at her, she did extremely familiar. He waited for her to calm down enough to get a grasp of what happened to her. "You alright now?"

The woman looked at him and nodded a bit, "Y-yeah. I'm okay now. Thanks."

"Hey! You're awake! You kind of had me worried there," Lissa said, looking over Chrom's shoulder. The woman blinked at her in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" she apologized without really understanding what was going on. Chrom couldn't help but think that her voice was almost like Robin's, just...more on the girly, confident side... Robin would've sent him a death glare if he actually said that in front of him. He shook his head and offered his hand with a smile.

"Don't apologize. Here, take my hand. It won't do you any good to sleep in the middle of a field," he said. She glanced at his hand with slight confusion. She felt like she had seen him before, but she couldn't seem to recall very well. She bit her lip, deciding to set it to the side, and took his hand with her right. She blinked at the strange three-eyed purple mark on her hand, but it slipped her mind when Chrom helped her up with ease. As soon as she was on her feet, she dusted herself off out of pure habit and nodded thankfully at Chrom, who couldn't help but notice that she was slightly taller than Robin. Slightly.

"Thank you, Chrom," She said. Everyone looked at her in surprise. If Chrom remembered correctly, no one actually said his name since the moment they found this woman.

"You know who I am?" he asked her. Surprise lit up her green eyes as she brought a hand to brush her hair aside.

"What? Ah, n-no... I don't know... It just...sort of came to me?" came her reply. She frowned and scratched her head in confusion. "Or...did it? Oh, darn it! What is with me today...?"

Chrom raised an eyebrow slightly as the woman glared at the grass. He decided a different approach. "Tell me, what's your name? What are you doing out here in the middle of a field?"

The woman grimaced as she struggled to remember her name. "Name? I-it's...Oh my... What was it again? I know it started with a-Ah...oh, darn. What was it? I know it's on the tip of my tongue..."

"...You can't remember your very own name?" Chrom asked as he furrowed his brows in caution. What kind of person forgets the name they've been called all their lives? She smiled apologetically.

"Although, I do seem to remember one name. It's Robin," she said, crossing her arms. She didn't notice the three sharing looks of surprise on their faces as she continued, "I know it's not my name. It certainly doesn't feel like it."

"You mean to tell me that you know Milord's name and Sir Robin's but not your own?" Frederick asked suspiciously.

"Sir Robin? Now that doesn't sound right... Wait a minute! You know a person named Robin?! Where am I? What is going on?!" she panicked, jumping to different questions as she spun on her heel with a hand shadowing her eyes. Lissa's eyes widened when she was struck with realization.

"Oh! Chrom, I think I know what's wrong with her! I think she has amnesia!" she said with a confirming nod. Frederick took a step toward her, clearly suspicious about the woman.

"I think she's playing a trick on us," he said rather bluntly.

She blinked, reminding Chrom of Robin when he was surprised, and tilted her head.

"A trick? B-b-but - it's true!" she said, desperate to defend herself, "Look, I know it sounds strange - or does it? Whatever! I don't know what in the world is going on!"

Chrom shared a look with Lissa. His sister's lips moved as she pointed to the woman.

"Just like Robin!" she mouthed. It was true; Robin did act like a clueless idiot, but he only did so when he really had no idea what in Naga's name was happening. What made this woman pretty interesting (or awfully suspicious in Frederick's opinion) was that she mirrored Robin perfectly. Well, other than the fact that there was a sword strapped to her side and there was no sign of a tome in sight.

Chrom pressed his lips together, faintly recalling a little girl shoving him in a river once when he was kid. If his suspicions were right then... possibly... just maybe this woman was Robin's... sister? Chrom couldn't really remember Robin's twin very well, but there really couldn't be a doubt that she was! After all, all the hints were right in front of him. Now, if only he could remember her name... Robin didn't really say his sister's name much, all for good reason (Chrom hoped), so it was a bit hard to recall it.

Chrom gave Frederick a look and the two stepped to the side while Lissa babbled about something to keep the woman's attention. "You know, I have a friend named Robin!"

"So it's true? You know a Robin?" came the woman's voice.

Lissa perked up and went on, "He's like a brother to me though! He's amazing..."

Chrom gave a look over his shoulder before turning his full attention to Frederick, "But, Frederick, what if it IS true? We can't leave her here. Imagine the look that Robin would give us if he learns that we abandoned an amnesiac woman. He'd hit us both with his favorite wind tome!"

Frederick had a look of dread cross his face as the thought had flashed his mind. He clearly remembered the day when Robin threw his wind tome across the room out of irritation and smacked him square in the face. For a frail teenager, he could throw pretty hard.

"If we don't help her, then that wouldn't make us Shepherds, now would it?" Chrom asked. Frederick gave him a grim expression.

"We would be the same, milord. I emphasize caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock," he said.

"Even so, you can't deny the fact that she could have a possible relation to Robin," Chrom said, giving the woman another look. Frederick's eyes narrowed.

"Milord, I understand why you would say that, but please, consider this as a possible threat. It's highly suspicious for someone that looks like Sir Robin to appear out of no where," Frederick said, directing his narrowed gaze to the woman. Chrom shrugged and came to a decision. He wasn't about to pass up the high possibility of recovering Robin's little sister.

"Alright then-we shall take her back to town and figure out what to do from there," he announced, turning away from Frederick. Lissa cheered a little, instantly telling Chrom that she had the same suspicions as him. The woman's eyes widened as her foot stepped out of place. It took her a second before she recovered from her shock and furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Wait, wait, wait! You guys are just going to take me into a town without so much as asking me if I want to come along? It's like you guys control me or something!" she said, horrified that she was about to be taken to some place she didn't know...But then again, she couldn't seem to remember anything, so why was she complaining?

"Peace, my friend. We'll hear you out when we get to town, alright? Now, let's go."

The woman pressed her lips together, but decided that there wasn't much that she could do except follow them. So, she did without another complaint.

._._._._._.

"Okay, seriously, I'm a prisoner or something? Because that's how I feel right now," the woman said as she stopped in the middle of the dirt road. Chrom stopped in mid step as he turned to face her, Lissa following his example. Frederick stopped short behind them as he guarded the back of the group.

"Don't worry, you'll be free to go once we establish that you are no enemy of Ylisse," Chrom said with a reassuring smile. The woman's eyes widened slightly.

"Ylisse?" she asked. "Is that where we are?"

"You never heard of this halidom?" Frederick asked, his voice full of suspiciousness. "Ha! Quite to good actor I must say! For a fool."

"Frederick, please..." Chrom said with a sigh. He turned to the woman with an apologetic smile. "Well, this land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler is Emmeryn, who is called our Exalt. And...I suppose we should introduce ourselves." He held a hand toward himself. "My name is Chrom-then again, you knew that."

He gestured to Lissa, "This delicate flower is my little sister, Lissa."

Lissa glared at her brother and placed her hands at her hips.

"I am NOT delicate! I can handle things as well as Robin!" she said. The woman's eyes blinked at Robin's name, her curiosity about him growing. Lissa turned to face the woman with a polite smile. "Please, ignore my brother. He tends to be quite thick. But, you're pretty lucky we found you! Waking up to the Brigands would've been horrible."

The woman tilted her head as she stared at Chrom. "You're called the Shepherds, right? I wonder, do you really tend to sheep? I'm sure that if I was one of those poor sheep, I would be scared of people in full armor..."

Chrom shrugged his shoulders with a smirk, "It's pretty dangerous. Just ask Frederick the Wary here."

The woman turned to face Frederick with a confused look. "Frederick the Wary? That's a weird title..."

"A title I wear with pride. Only the Gods know what would happen if one of us isn't cautious," he said as his eyes narrowed, "I would trust you, but your actions have been too suspicious to do so."

The woman gave him a polite nod of understanding, "I see. If I were you, I would've done the same. My name is Ravina." she paused for a moment as she blinked in surprise. "...Strange. I can't believe it took me this long to remember my name. I suppose that's one thing about me solved..."

Chrom's eyes widened considerably while Frederick stiffened. Lissa smiled, "Wow! You have a nice name!"

Ravina laughed a little and shrugged, "Thank you."

Chrom, on the other hand, was shocked as a memory resurfaced.

_"Really, Chrom? Why are you asking again?" Robin said as he looked over the top of his opened book. He was sitting up against the window with his knees bent and his book resting on his thighs. Chrom shrugged, placing a hand on his hip._

_"No reason really. I mean, I'd like to remember it in case I ever meet her in the future. " he added as Robin gave him his "oh, really" look._

_"This is the fifth time this month," Robin said._

_"Hey! You'll never know what would happen!" Chrom said as he shrugged. Robin_ _closed his book and sighed, looking out the window._

_"Well... her name," he began, pain hiding underneath his tone, "Her name is Ravina."_

Ravina... Ravina! That was her name!

"Ravina? But then that means-" Chrom was unable to finish his sentence when Lissa gasped in surprise and pointed ahead of them.

"Chrom! The town! I-it's ablaze!" she cried. Everyone turned to look at the town ahead. And to their horror, Lissa's words rang true. Smoke was billowing toward the sky in several places of the town. Ravina could faintly see the red-orange flames from the distance.

"Damn it! The cursed brigands must be the cause of this!" Chrom cursed, forcing himself to set aside his thoughts for now. He placed a hand at his blade and turned to the others, "Frederick! Lissa! Quickly!"

"But what about her?" Frederick asked, giving Ravina a distrustful look. Chrom glanced at her and shook his head.

"Unless she's burning too, it'll have to wait!" Chrom said. Frederick frowned.

"Aptly said, milord."

"Come on! We're wasting time!" Lissa said, her arms waving with urgency. Without another word, the three of them took off, leaving a very confused Ravina. She stood there for a moment.

"Did I just get ditched?" she asked out loud without thinking. She looked down and took note of the sword strapped to her side. She slowly unsheathed it and tested the weight in her hands. It was light and pretty sharp. Ravina gripped the handle and did a quick horizontal slash. The blade sliced through the air, giving a high-pitched ring. She paused for a moment before testing a couple more swings. A smile grew on her lips as she straightened up, clearly impressed with her own skill.

"Hmm... I guess I'm not hopeless," she said. With a shrug of carelessness, she took off after the Shepherds who ditched her. She didn't know why she followed them, but she had a feeling that she just had to go.

Well, there was a first for everything!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview!
> 
> "Hey, Robin, I was just won-Whoa," came a voice, "It's pink!"
> 
> I nearly choked on my tea, hurriedly placing the cup down on the table. I looked over to see the familiar sight of a awfully big hat sitting on top of a boy's head. "Uhm... yeah. Good afternoon, Ricken..." 
> 
> "I thought you hated pink?" Ricken asked, taking a seat across from me.
> 
> I gave him a flat stare, "Real men wear pink." 


	4. How a Man Wears Pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Local Birb becoming a detective.

You know, tea was a good thing. It soothed a sore throat (if at the right temperature), and warmed up a person just right.

For me, it was freaking heaven. The sweet scent of tea leaves and the occasional cube or two of sugar or a spoonful of honey was like a drug for me; anything to wash away the constant stress that filled my days.

Well, metaphorically.

I felt the beginnings of a wet cough forming at the bottom of my throat, and took a quick sip from my generously warm cup of tea. I was beyond grateful when Floria came by with a trey of freshly brewed tea a bit earlier.

I locked myself up in the library since Emm and I parted ways after breakfast. I wanted to stick with her today, but I couldn't since she had to attend a few meetings and such. Of course, as a "servant" under the royal family, I wasn't allowed to attend. Hah, sometimes I had forgotten that I was officially a random Plegian that became a "Spoil of War" on paper. Technically, I was supposed to be a servant of a nobleman, but accidentally befriending the Prince of Ylisse certainly placed me where I was now.

...Not that I was complaining. If anything, I was more than grateful to cover up Chrom's accidental training accidents with pretty lame, but believable excuses. Like that one time where he bashed a hole in the wall and-

"Hey, Robin, I was just won-Whoa," came a voice, "It's pink!"

I nearly choked on my tea, hurriedly placing the cup down on the table. I looked over to see the familiar sight of an awfully big hat sitting on top of a boy's head, "Uhm... yeah. Good afternoon, Ricken..."

"I thought you hated pink?" Ricken asked, taking a seat across from me. The thick wind tome in his arms still seemed a little odd on a boy as young as him, but I grew to accept that it was a normal occurrence with him.

I gave him a flat stare, "Real men wear pink."

"Riiight," Ricken drawled with a grin on his face, "You usually complain about-"

I cut him off with a wave of my hand, "We can talk about this later. Besides, we have some readings to finish up."

"Ugh - I almost forgot! I still haven't finished reading about the foundations of the thunder tome!" Ricken lamented, dropping his grin and his shoulders. I couldn't help but shrug my shoulders with a small smile.

"Don't worry, Ricken. I can help you if you need it. I've finished that section a little earlier," I said as we both got up. Ricken nodded to me in thanks before disappearing into the many shelves.

Our castle's library was huge. It could easily fit about five, maybe even six sizes of my own room (which is pretty big, mind you). The walls were lined with shelves filled with hundreds of books. The best part was that the books here were not just limited to just general subjects, magic, fantasies, and such- it varied from history of Ylisse to the foundations of Plegia (written in Plegian). In other words, it had a ridiculous amount of subjects to pick and choose from. After living here for eight years, I still have yet to finish a fraction of the library's books. The fact that Emmeryn made it a point to have literature from surrounding kingdoms just made this library feel pretty diverse. I couldn't help but think that I might've played a role in that.

I quietly pulled a book off the shelves and made my way back to my seat. Ricken still hadn't come back yet, so I figured that he planned to read at a random spot. Pulling up my legs, I got myself comfortable for a long hour of reading.

Well, that was until I heard Ricken say something.

"What did you say?" I called out, pulling a bit of my sleeves. Was it getting colder in here or not?

Instead of getting an answer, Ricken reappeared from behind a shelf and came up to me, frowning with a book in his hands.

"Yeah- look at this," he said, opening the book, "it wasn't like this the last time I used it."

I blinked when I immediately noticed how a huge chunk of the spine was visible halfway through the book. That... wasn't natural at all.

"Hold on- isn't it missing a whole section?" I asked, taking the book into my hands. Ricken placed his hands on his hips and looked around my shoulder to take a look.

"I think so? I mean, it was even crossed out in the table of contents."

Sure enough, a horrible line of blotched black ink was smeared across the words of the missing section- it was impossible to read.

"Who could've done this?" I asked, rhetorically. I scanned at the table of contents and tried not to frown. It was a book of the recent events of the world- well, about thirty or so years. So many events were crossed out and smeared with ink. I couldn't help but notice that it wasn't just an entire section missing- but the page numbers had been inconsistent.

"Hey, when did you last use this?" I asked, looking at Ricken. He hummed a bit before he answered, "Just a few days ago."

I felt a slight spark of worry in my chest. Who would do such a thing to a book of records? Maybe I should tell Emm- no, something as small as this wouldn't need her attention. If anything, I should just leave it be, but-

"Hm, you know, I think I might've recalled seeing this volume in a book shop in town." I took one look at Ricken and his face immediately blanched. "No- wait! You didn't hear it from me-"

It was too late. The grin on my face wouldn't stop as an idea came to me.

"Then we just have to go and buy one, right? Pretty simple," I said, placing a hand on my hip. Ricken vehemently shook his head.

"No! Bad! Baaaaad, bad, bad idea!" he said, reaching for the book in my hands. I casually lifted it above my head and watched as he did his best to jump for it. "You know- you're- _not allowed_ \- to leave- the castle for- for your own- safety!"

"Yeah, like that's ever stopped me before!" I laughed, turning around with the book far out of Ricken's reach, "Besides, it's strange enough that someone had the gall to tear out an entire section of a book- a book of _records_ , mind you."

"Will you listen to me?" Ricken half-whined, "Lady Exalt has a good reason to protect you, and I am not about to let you get caught in some trouble again!"

"I'm grateful that you look out for me, but this is pretty worrying," I said, gesturing to the book, "We can't just sit around with a ruined book like this. Plus, it's a mystery just waiting to be solved."

"I'll admit that I am curious why this happened- but, why not just let me go out and buy the book then come back? It'll be simple as that," Ricken proposed. He seemed a bit panicked, but I couldn't just take his idea. I had been wanting to have a little adventure in town.

I shrugged, "Nope. I'm going to town, and you're coming with me."

"Wait- Robin-"

I heard Ricken hurry after me as I headed out of the library, "Think we can trick Stahl into coming with us, too?"

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now," I said, heading down the hall. I was already slipping off my mother's coat as we walked. If I wasn't careful, I would definitely be sealed within the castle for the next month.

"He could be on duty-" Ricken began.

I looked over my shoulder and tossed a grin in Ricken's direction, "Let's bribe him with a loaf of sweet bread!"

"Robin!"

._._._._._.

To be honest, it wasn't hard to find a freshly baked loaf of sweet bread. All I had to do was pop by the kitchen and Timothy gave it to me ("Oh, finally! About time you've decided to add more meat to your bones!" he said. Well, _excuse me_ for being thin.) without a problem. Ricken disappeared with my coat for a bit and returned with a plain, generic brown cloak that he had lying around in his room at the far side of the castle. It wasn't as comfy as mine, but it was good enough to blend in as a traveler.

Finding Stahl on the other hand...

"Damn it- at this rate, I'm very tempted to leave him behind," I said as I peeked around the corner. Ricken shook his head at me.

"Like I said, he could be on duty. It is noon," he said, "Most of the Shepherds would be patrolling at this hour."

"Wait, leave who behind?" came a voice behind us. I spun on my heel, recognizing the voice immediately.

"Stahl! Just the person I was looking for!"

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

The said knight stood before me with his eye brows furrowed. There wasn't a doubt that the green haired man had already suspected something with the look on his face. I was half surprised that I didn't notice him sooner, since his armor was known for the light hint of green in the coating. If anyone were to ask me how I would describe him, Stahl was a man of loyalty and friendliness, and of course- an endless pit of a stomach.

"Ricken is it just me, or is Robin actually fading to pink?" he asked. I groaned as a ran a hand through my hair, remembering my predicament with my hair color... again.

"It's pretty cool, don't you think?" Ricken chirped behind me. I heaved a heavy sigh.

"Stahl, I already had this conversation with nearly _everyone_ , so please do me the favor of just accepting what you see," I said, giving him a flat look. He looked a little concerned with that deepening frown of his, but shook his head nonetheless.

"Easier said than done-"

I interrupted him before he got the chance, "Anyway! I need your help, Stahl!"

"Robin, this better not be one of your schemes of getting out of the castle-"

"No- no, not really," I quickly interrupted.

"It is," Ricken popped in, but I deliberately ignored him.

"Can you help us out? There's this book that we're reading for our studies, and it's missing a whole section," I said, placing a smile on my face, "Ricken said that he saw another copy of it in the castle town, so-"

"Absolutely not," came Stahl's immediate answer. His grip on his spear tightened as he continued, "The last time you did this, the entire day patrol got a scolding and doubled work! I'm not about to risk that again."

As much as I felt really sorry about that, my main mission of getting out never seemed more appealing.

"But, Staaaahl! I really need this book, and it's important that we finish the reading!"

"And there's no reason for you to leave this castle. Ricken and I can get the book while you _stay where you're supposed to be_."

I huffed for a second before pulling out my secret weapon, "Well then. I guess I brought this bread for nothing."

Stahl's stomach immediately growled. I grinned, knowing that I had cornered him. I heard Ricken hit his head and sigh heavily.

"Stahl- you really should've seen this coming," he said, peeking around my shoulder. I had to admit, Stahl's perseverance did a great job for lasting about a minute before he gave in.

"Damn it, Robin! How did you know I hadn't eaten in minutes?"

I grinned. Bribery at its finest.

._._._._._.

The streets were filled with people out and about, and the chatter felt a little overwhelming. I stayed close to Stahl (who changed out of his armor and carried a sword strapped to his side) and Ricken stayed by my side. They had both insisted that I keep my hood up, mainly because the color of my hair was a little unusual (i mean the white- the _white_ ), but I had no complaints. I'd do anything to get out.

It had been a while since I left the castle, so it was a bit exhilarating the moment we hit the business district.

"I didn't think the streets would be so- busy today," I said. Ricken huffed a bit, "Come on, Robin. The castle town is always busy. I thought you knew that."

I pressed my lips together as we moved out of the way for a wooden cart, "Not this busy."

"It might be the rumors spreading about," Stahl said, placing a guarding arm around my shoulders and pulling me away from the edge of the street.

"Rumors?"

"Well, the increased bandit activities aren't just bandits, from what I heard. Some people say they're undercover soldiers trying to cause a war again," Ricken said, appearing right at my side. I frowned.

"And those soldiers must be from Plegia, right?" It sounded more of a statement than a question. Stahl pressed his lips together and hummed uneasily. I took that as a yes.

"Robin-"

"Ah, there it is!" I interrupted, cutting Ricken off. I shot out of Stahl's grip and hurried over to the visible book store. I knew it wasn't a smart thing to do, but I wasn't about to take Ricken's pity, or Stahl's concern. I've heard enough over the past few days.

The store bell rang as I entered the store. There wasn't many people around, only a few kids and maybe a mage inside. The shopkeeper took one look at me and quickly averted his eyes. As much as I wanted to, I know Stahl would want to make this a fast trip. He was already at risk of getting in trouble for escorting me through town. No help would come from that man if I asked for the book.

I went through the shelves and searched, hoping to catch it quickly.

"What are you looking for again?" Stahl asked as he appeared behind me. I ran a hand over the spines and stopped at one.

"This one-" I said, pulling the thick book out of the shelf.

"The History of the World Volume Thirty-six...?"

"Yup," I heard Ricken answer, "I wanted to do some cross-referencing, and I think that book contains exactly what I was looking for."

I flipped through the pages and stopped at the general spot where the missing section, "Oh for Grima's sake- it's- the end of the Mad War."

Stahl was quick to cut me off, "Here, give it to me. I'll buy it and you can take a look at it as soon as we get back."

I couldn't stop him from taking the book from my hands, but I could understand why he did so. I nodded over to Ricken and we both left the book store while Stahl paid a visit to the shopkeeper. I put a thoughtful hand over my mouth as a stared at the ground. Something was strange about this. The book in the royal library was practically vandalized within the few days Ricken last used our volume. The content itself seemed to be directly related to or anything mentioning Plegia. It made no sense for someone to actually take the time to tear out an entire section.

"...Robin, what are you thinking?" Ricken asked me. I pulled myself out of my thoughts and gave him a small smile.

"Honestly, I don't know anymore," I said as Stahl finally left the book store, "It might just be nothing at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview! 
> 
> "By the-- it tastes disgusting!" I choked, trying hard not to gag at the aftertaste. I failed miserably as I fell into a coughing fit. My physician patted my back in attempt to ease it. 
> 
> "Fuuuuuuu-gh-" 
> 
> "You know what they say, 'the bitter the medicine, the better it works." 
> 
> "I don't-*cough*- a-agree! Fu-" 
> 
> "Language."
> 
> I wanted to cry.


End file.
